Folding electronic transaction card

• US 20080093467A1
• Filed: 12/13/2007
• Published: 04/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tyfone Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Tyfone Incorporated
• Inventors: Spitzer, Thomas, Narendra, Siva, Tadepalli, Prabhakar
• Application Number:
  US12/001,935
• Publication Number:
  US 20080093467A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0886 the card reader being portable for interacting with a POS or ECR in realizing a payment transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

A sleeve provides communications between an electronic transaction card and an intelligent electronic device. The intelligent electronic device may be a mobile phone or other device with or without network connectivity. The electronic transaction card may have magnetic field producing circuitry compatible with magnetic card readers, smartcard circuitry, other point-of-sale interfaces, or any combination thereof.

Claims

1. A transaction card comprising:

means for communicating with an add-on slot in an intelligent electronic device;

a stripe to communicate with a magnetic card reader; and

a movable body portion capable of reducing a size of the transaction card.

2. The transaction card of claim 1 wherein the means for communicating with an add-on slot comprises a memory card slot compatible interface.

3. The transaction card of claim 1 further comprising circuitry to produce a time-varying magnetic field in a vicinity of the stripe.

4. The transaction card of claim 3 wherein the movable body portion comprises a foldable body portion.

5. The transaction card of claim 4 wherein the card is operable to produce the time-varying magnetic field when folded.

6. The transaction card of claim 4 wherein the card is operable to produce the time-varying magnetic field when unfolded.

7. The transaction card of claim 4 wherein the transaction card is compatible with the add-on slot when folded, and is substantially the size of a credit card when unfolded.

8. The transaction card of claim 1 wherein the movable body portion comprises a sliding portion adapted to be slid in and out to modify a size of the transaction card.

9. The transaction card of claim 1 wherein the transaction card includes a unique identification number for a pairing relationship between the transaction card and the intelligent electronic device.

10. The transaction card of claim 1 wherein the means for communicating with an add-on slot comprises electrical contacts that provide connectivity compliant with a communications protocol for memory cards.

11. The transaction card of claim 1 further comprising a smartcard interface.

12. A transaction card comprising:

means for communicating with an add-on slot in an intelligent electronic device;

a smartcard interface to communicate with a smartcard reader; and

a movable body portion capable of reducing a size of the transaction card.

13. The transaction card of claim 12 wherein the means for communicating with an add-on slot comprises a memory card slot compatible interface.

14. The transaction card of claim 12 wherein the movable body portion comprises a foldable body portion.

15. The transaction card of claim 12 wherein the movable body portion comprises a sliding portion adapted to be slid in and out to modify a size of the transaction card.

16. A transaction card comprising:

means for communicating with an add-on slot in an intelligent electronic device;

means for communicating with a merchant point-of-sale terminal; and

a movable body portion capable of reducing a size of the transaction card.

17. The transaction card of claim 16 wherein the means for communicating with a merchant point-of-sale terminal comprises circuitry to produce a time-varying magnetic field.

18. The transaction card of claim 16 wherein the means for communicating with a merchant point-of-sale terminal comprises a smartcard interface.

19. The transaction card of claim 16 wherein the movable body portion comprises a foldable body portion.

20. The transaction card of claim 16 wherein the movable body portion comprises a sliding portion adapted to be slid in and out to modify a size of the transaction card.